Sutton Coldfield’s November Circle’s meeting on November 14th turned out to be a double special celebration with two 50 year membership scrolls being presented instead of a planned one by Great Britain National President Brother Roger Lillie. At Streetly Circle’s meeting a week before a 50 year scroll was due to be presented to Brother Peter Dickens but unfortunately Brother Roger’s car broke down in Oxford on his way to Streetly’s venue at Lee Marston near Coleshill. However all was not lost with Brother Peter and his wife Vickie being invited to attend Sutton Coldfield’s Circle meeting at which Brother Mike Gaffney together with his twin sister Elizabeth was being presented with his 50 year scroll
The meeting and dinner which followed was an outstanding success with over 110 attending including brothers,wives and guests. It was an honour not only to have Brother Roger attending but also his wife Margaret together with Brother Provincial President Andrew Bodger , Brother Director John Minster and his wife Gill , Provincial Officers , Presidents and brothers from some 14 circles in the Province. Brother Roger gave a brief resume of Brother Mike and Peter’s achievements which included the various offices held within the respective circles and the contribution that they had given to the Association over the years. The Morgan Cup raised £325.17 for the Bursary Fund. It was also an opportunity for brothers from around the Province to meet together again after the end of the Covid 19 restrictions.
At our Circle January meeting we held our annual charity bottle auction. Other unwanted Christmas gifts are also welcome!
Considering it was early January we had a good turnout of Circle Brothers, enhanced by 6 visiting Brothers from Kenilworth Circle, including President Bernard Baxter and former Provincial President Danny McAree, and also three visiting Brothers from City of Lichfield, including President Denis Heaney and Andrew Bodger.
Thanks to strong encouragement from auctioneers Brother Ted Reilly and myself, all of the visitors joined our Circle in vigorous bidding for a large variety of bottles and gifts – not many Brothers went home empty-handed!
As a result, thanks to the generosity of Brothers present, we raised £378, which will be divided between the President’s charities and the two Catenians Funds. Circle President Tony Fleming has nominated student carers at Lourdes and MacMillan Cancer as his charities.
Photos show the auction donations and Brother Ted Reilly in full flow.
Bro. Martin Jackson – Membership and Correspondent Officer
On Monday 7/10 Streetly Cicle held a charity Race Night in aid of President Tony Fleming’s 2 chosen charities – MacMillan Cancer and assisting local students acting as carers at Lourdes on the Diocesan Pilgrimage. We were delighted to welcome Provincial President Brother Paul Clancy and his wife Angela, and also from Lichfield and Stafford Circles President Bob Awty and his wife Eileen. Unfortunately there were very few winners in the room following the four races, (although Brother Steve Willis did well!), but many of those present had got into the swing by coming dressed as if going to a race day at Ascot or elsewhere, including our visitors! Importantly, the evening raised £254 from the races, plus a further £120 from a raffle which was held. Many thanks in particular to Brother Ted Reilly, who organised the evening at short notice, and Brother Mike Rudd who controlled the money!
Please find attached some photos from the night which I am sure we will repeat for a third time next year.
S&F Martin Jackson – Membership/Correspondent Officer
In February Streetly Circle held its annual bottle and gift auction. We were grateful for a large number of bottle donations from our Brothers, some unwanted Christmas gifts, and other prizes were generous donations of some value, including a Satnav from Brother David Grocott.
We were delighted to welcome a large number of visiting Brothers who also joined in the bidding, and by the end of the auction the grand sum of £475 had been raised, to be used towards our Circle President’s 2 chosen charities, supporting reformed ex-prisoners, and students from local schools wishing to help as carers at the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage.
Here is a photo of our two very persuasive auctioneers for the evening, (Brothers Tony Fleming and Martin Jackson), with the large number of donated prizes.
We were joined at our Christmas Party by a number of students and 4 members of staff from Bishop Walsh Catholic Secondary School, who performed a number of carols as well as giving a presentation about their experiences at this year’s Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes.
3 students spoke eloquently about how it was a positive spiritual experience for them.
Our current Circle President, Brother Ted Riley, has nominated the Lourdes student Appeal again as one of his charities.
On the night we held a raffle for his 2 charities, which raised £125. We were also holders of the Morgan Cup following a recent raid on Shrewsbury Circle, and raised £35 on the night. It was then successfully claimed by Brothers from Malvern Circle.
Brother Martin Jackson – Circle Membership & Publicity Officer
At our October meeting we were delighted to welcome our new Brother John Gately to our number here at Streetly 275. John attends the Abbey Church in Erdington, and works as a surveyor. He was introduced to our Circle by brothers John Delaney and Tony Fleming. We warmly welcome him, along with his wife Marcella and family. Pictured here, left to right, Tony Fleming, Circle President Ted Reilly, John Gately and John Delaney.
